Cory Gunz will step into the spotlight with the premiere of “Son of a Gun,” MTV’s new docu-series profiling Young Money’s rising star. The reality show follows the “6 Foot 7 Foot” rapper’s struggle to make a name for himself in the hip-hop world, documenting his business moves, relationship with his father-manager Peter Gunz, and all the behind-the-scenes drama. Executive producer Nick Cannon spoke with Rap-Up.com about what he saw in the 23-year-old and why he is poised to become rap’s next superstar.

What can we expect from “Son of a Gun”?
I like to say when I was creating the show, I was looking to do something very Scorsese-like. I’m a huge fan of Goodfellas and it’s just a coming-of-age story dealing with the mafia, except we’re doing a coming-of-age story dealing with the music industry, and it’s told through the eyes of Cory Gunz. A lot of people may be familiar with him, but when I was creating the show, I was asking around like, “Yo, I wanna know who the hottest young dude in hip-hop is right now coming up,” and everybody kept saying Cory Gunz. So I tracked him down and told him that I wanted to take his career to the next level and document the entire process, and that’s how we got the show.

What did you see in Cory?
Cory Gunz is a genius. At the end of the day, it’s the way he puts words together, the way he moves—he definitely is thinking on another level.

Do you think he will follow Drake and Nicki Minaj and become the next Young Money superstar?
I definitely think he can. I think he can be bigger than Drake and Nicki Minaj. I’m a huge fan of both of those acts, but Cory comes from a different place. He’s a street dude and he’s been living hip-hop all his life and the industry’s been buzzing about him for years. Jay-Z signed him when he was 17, so just the respect and the potential that everybody recognizes—and he holds the Bronx down like no other and that’s the birthplace of hip-hop—so I think we can see a lot of things from this cat.